How many (what percentage) of toms will you take off a property???

[GobbleNut]

If the habitat is good and there is successful reproduction going on in the long run, killing another bird or two probably will have no long-term impact in your hunting.  If there has been no successful hatch in the last couple of years, however, and you truly do not think there are any jakes in the area, then killing the remaining mature birds this year may result in a negative impact in your hunting there until you do have a successful hatch or two. 

If it was me, I think I would be willing to shoot no more than one additional gobbler on that property, and then be looking for another place to finish off my limit. There is no rule that says a guy is less of a turkey hunter if he chooses not to shoot every gobbler he can somewhere.   

[Marc]

Take what long beards you want to eat and leave the rest including the Jakes

This is my third year hunting the property...  (I also hunt it for quail and waterfowl).  I have seen groups up to 20 birds in the fall (mostly hens).  I have yet to see a jake on the property...

Last winter while duck hunting, I did see a group of 4 toms as well while driving out.

Talking to a guy that leases and runs cattle, he has seen about 4 toms on the property (before the season), and from the gobbling and what I have seen, that is what I would guess as well...

Never seen better California habitat for turkeys.  Multiple ponds, plenty of feed (including for the cattle), great roosts...  I would expect to see far more birds on this property than I am...  Still lucky to have it, and would hate to hurt future prospects...

Quail hatches have been absolutely miserable (everywhere), and with the drought, I would guess the turkeys have been struggling as well.  Driving around the area, there are usually "house turkeys" congregated in certain small residential areas, and I have seen none.  This is the fewest turkeys I have ever seen in the general area.

[MK M GOBL]

I guess a lot will have to do with what your local turkey population is and how your spring nesting season goes. We never even think about it... I have a property we hunt and the landowner always gives us the "Shoot everyone one of them" deal. So he has 250 acres of what I would call prime turkey ground. We will kill 5-7 gobblers there every year and make no difference in reproduction. I have a few properties like this and see the same results on all of them, makes no difference how many toms we take... In a good area, good weather and accounting for predators and everything a flock of turkeys can double there population yearly biologically speaking.

MK M GOBL

[TRG3]

I'm lucky in that there are 7-8 places locally that I can hunt. If I take a gobbler from one spot, that location is done for my remaining two tags. By not taking more than one gobbler from an area as well as not shooting jakes, a location can produce gobblers for many years not considering other hunters and/or predation.

[OldSchool]

I'm lucky in that there are 7-8 places locally that I can hunt. If I take a gobbler from one spot, that location is done for my remaining two tags. By not taking more than one gobbler from an area as well as not shooting jakes, a location can produce gobblers for many years not considering other hunters and/or predation.

That's the way I tend to look at it. I hunt a piece of private land here by the house that's about the size you're talking about Marc. There are five or six other hunters with permission to hunt it each year and several more that aren't suppose to be there on any given day. I don't know how many birds the other guys kill, along with the guys riding up and down the road every morning trying to pop one in a field from their vehicles. Even on banner years, When I shoot a bird I'm done there and move to another spot. Probably on any but poor years, killing another mature bird wouldn't make any difference, It's just something I choose to do.

Bob

[gophert]

6 years ago I got permission to hunt a piece of property.  We heard 1 gobble and were able to kill him.  For the next 3 years we saw and heard nothing.  We started feeding them during the off season.  In 2013 we took 1 bird out of 3 long beards.  No jakes could be killed.  The next year there were 5 and 3 jakes we took 2 birds.  Last year there were 7 with 5 jakes and we took 3...this year we've spotted 10 long beards and 5 jakes.  I am a big supporter of protecting your future when it comes to hunting so we stay at a 50% or slightly less.  It works!


Sent from my typewriter

[Gooserbat]

I agree with killing toms and leaving jakes.  It's kinda like putting a green tomato on a sandwich.

[Drthorn]

i'd take as many as i can on a property...I am allowed 2 per season and I will try my best to get that two no matter what property they come from.